Franklin Police Alert Netizens about Three E-mail Scams

Police in Franklin (Indiana, USA) have issued an alert to computer users about three phishing e-mail campaigns which are targeting local residents simultaneously, as reported by Tennessean on July 9, 2009.

The most frightening of the three campaigns is the 'hit man scam' in which people get an e-mail from online fraudsters who threaten to kill the recipient. The fraudsters tell the recipient that someone has paid them to take his life so they are closely following him.

However, the e-mail states that the recipient can save himself if he sends money amounting $70,000. Since scammers send out these e-mails in bulk, there is a possibility that someone will become a victim.

The second phishing campaign pertains to a 'bail money fraud.' In this, an e-mail is sent to the potential victim or the scammer contacts him through a social-networking website posing as a relative or friend of the target. The scammer further says that police have arrested him therefore the recipient should wire him money for bail.

The last campaign pertains to a scam that involves excess payment for an auction item. In this, the scammer first tracks a good, which the potential victim offers for an online sale. Subsequently, a number of e-mails are sent and received between the online fraudster and the target individual that ends up in the latter (target individual) getting a check of amount much higher the actual price of the item.

The scammer directs the victim to deposit the check in his bank account, retains the selling price from the sum and returns the remaining amount. The scammer then promises that someone would shortly arrive to collect the bought item.

If the victim does everything as instructed, he soon gets to know from his bank that the deposited check is actually counterfeit.

Spokesman of Franklin Police Department, Sgt. Charles Warner, said that the incidents usually originated overseas that left little scope for pursuing them, as reported by Tennessean on July 9, 2009.

Security experts therefore advise end-users to protect their assets and identity, or visit the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov for filing a complaint.

Related article: France too Falls Prey to Chinese Hackers

» SPAMfighter News - 8/1/2009